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Blain a watershed, says NT chief minister

Neda Vanovac

Winning back the seat of Blain for the Country Liberals is a watershed moment in the healing of a party that has been riven by instability, says the Northern Territory's Chief Minister.

The CLP won the seat on Saturday night despite a 10.1 per cent swing against it, after a turbulent two months in NT politics.

The government began the year with a 16-seat majority in the 25-seat Legislative Assembly, until it was taken by surprise with the resignation of former chief minister Terry Mills.

He had been sitting on the back benches since March last year when he was unceremoniously dumped from the top job while on a trade trip to Japan.

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Then last month, three Aboriginal backbenchers accused the government of racism and failing to deliver on promises made to the bush. They resigned from the party last week.

The Blain win allows the CLP to govern with a one-seat majority and draws a line under the recent drama, Chief Minister Adam Giles said.

"Today is a watershed moment in moving forward for the Country Liberals," he told reporters at post-election function on Saturday night.

"(It) represents an opportunity for galvanising the team, setting in place our policies and plans to develop the Northern Territory.

"It's a watershed moment in terms of bringing healing to our team, healing to the party and to the constituency of the NT."

He said there was no doubt they had faced challenges over their 18 months in government, but were "getting on and governing and getting rid of the rubbish".

He said the actions of Alison Anderson, Larissa Lee and Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu had been a disgrace.

"To see three members behave so poorly is quite sad," Mr Giles said.

He pointed to Ms Anderson's chequered history with ATSIC and the way she nearly brought down the Labor party in 2009 when she left the government in a minority position, before joining the CLP before the 2012 election.

"(Her behaviour) has been disgraceful and, I think, unprofessional," he said.

"But what that means for her constituents is even worse."

The three had let Territorians down, he said, but the door was still open for Mr Kurrupuwu to return.

The three new independents have said they are planning to form their own regional political party.